The collective baseball minds at ESPN have determined that only 20 players in the history of Major Baseball have been better than Alex Rodriguez.According to Baseball-Reference.com, the online encyclopedia of the sport, that encompasses some 18,485 players who have appeared in at least one major league game.And yet, a case can be made that A-Rod was better than that, better statistically than at least two of the hitters ranked ahead of him -- Ken Griffey Jr. and Joe DiMaggio --?and perhaps more than that, given that only three players in history have hit more home runs than Rodriguezs 696 or driven in more runs than his 2,084 and only nine had a higher career OPS than his .932.Rodriguezs career WAR of 118.3 is higher than that of all but eight position players. It is nearly 10 points higher than that of Mickey Mantle and six points higher than that of Lou Gehrig. It is 35 points higher than that of Griffey Jr., his former teammate on the Seattle Mariners, who sits higher in our rankings, despite retiring with 66 fewer home runs, 248 fewer RBIs and a career batting average 11 points lower than A-Rods .295.That brings us to the essential problem with, and the tragedy of, Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez. No one knows how good he was or is or could have been because of what he once termed the pink elephant in the room.That curious animal, of course, was a euphemism for performance-enhancing drug violations, a crime against baseball that Rodriguez has copped to twice. And that is why, despite his incredible numbers on a baseball field, his number in our all-time rankings is a bit lower than you might expect.Rodriguezs misdeeds off the field left many voters scratching their heads over where he belongs in baseball history and how many of his gaudy numbers can be trusted.?I wrote a column about this in June 2015 on the occasion of his 3,000th hit. It is worth reading again, if only to remind us of what Rodriguez is and, more importantly, what he might have been.Interestingly, strong indications of PED use were not enough to work against Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens, who finished ahead of A-Rod. In both cases, the numbers are both too impressive to ignore and too ridiculous to fully trust -- for me, anyway.For some reason, A-Rods numbers did not work in his favor the same way. Perhaps after he retires and another 20 or so home runs are added to his total, a younger and presumably more permissive generation will see fit to rank him higher. Maybe hell even, along with Bonds and Clemens, get serious consideration for the Hall of Fame, which at one time seemed to be the destination of all three.There are other curiosities in the final voting, some of them no doubt generational. Were Pedro Martinez and Greg Maddux really better pitchers than Bob Gibson and Tom Seaver? Was Mike Piazza, at No. 99, truly one of the 100 greatest ball players who ever lived? Was Griffey Jr. really a better player, by a considerable margin, than Rodriguez? Clearly, our voters put more trust in Griffeys numbers than in those of A-Rod, who bests him in virtually every offensive category.Arguments such as that are what make lists such as this so popular and entertaining. Theyre the reason these polls will be done again and again by numerous outlets. No doubt, ESPN will do another one sometime in the future.When we do, it will be interesting to note what a future generation sees when it looks at Rodriguezs career. Greatness? Artifice?Or simply an unsolvable mystery, which, it seems, is how many of us view him now. Alex Reyes . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. Tommy Edman . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. http://www.custommlbcardinalsjersey.com/custom-mike-matheny-jersey-large-131q.html .Y. -- Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers had no intention of changing his hard-hitting style before taking part in a disciplinary hearing for his illegal check to New Jersey forward Dainius Zubrus head. Rogers Hornsby . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. Adam Wainwright . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5.Check out pictures of Red Bull pair Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen as youve never seen them before from the Mexican GP. A week after adopting a Texan accent for his Thursday media interviews in Austin, Ricciardo arrived in the Mexico paddock sporting a scarier look - as did team-mate Verstappen.Ahead of Mexicos Day of the Dead celebrations next week, the pair are getting in the local spirit with some rather convincing face paint - which they are keeping on for all of their usual media day engagements. Introducing the Red Ghouls... Dont miss the Mexican GP on Sunday evening.dddddddddddd The race is live at 7pm on Sky Sports F1; Watch with a NOW TV day pass - £6.99, no contract Also See: WATCH: Ricciardo goes Texan! When is the Mexican GP on Sky F1? ' ' '